Neeha and her family lived in Islamabad, Pakistan just a few years ago. When Neeha’s father, a Christian, refused to convert to Islam his 2 year old daughter was kidnapped and mercilessly raped in a field, leaving her body horribly disfigured.

The Ventura County chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is holding its 2011 Victory Drive and Banquet on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Padre Serra Parish – Serra Center in Camarillo, 5205 Upland Road.

Former pro football players Chris Thomas and Bob Gagliano will be the guest speakers for the banquet, which also will feature worship music and dinner. Area sports coaches and athletes involved in Ventura County FCA will highlight for the guests their activities at local schools. A VIP reception begins at 5:45 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:45.

FCA is the largest Christian sports organization in America and has presented Christianity to hundreds of thousands of young athletes and coaches on high school and college campuses since 1954. The FCA, which is interdenominational, holds “huddles” at public and private schools for interested athletes and also ministers to athletes and coaches. FCA Ventura County currently sponsors huddles at several schools and hopes to expand countywide. This marks the first year the FCA is hosting this event in Ventura County.

Tickets to attend the dinner and program are $50 per person. Event sponsors also are being sought at levels of $250, $500, $1,000 or $2,500. For tickets or sponsorship information, please contact FCA Ventura County Area Director Ed Lyon at 746-4725 or lyon@fca.org, or banquet coordinator John E. Tarkany at 760-8674 or jtarkany@vcoe.org. In addition, checks can be mailed to Ed Lyon at P.O. Box 6033, Ventura, CA, 93006.

“YOUTH NEWS“
Registrations for Confirmation 1 and 2 , Jr. high Ministry and 7th & 8th Grade First Communions will be on August 16, 17, 18, and August 23, 24, 25th . Registrations will be from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Please bring a copy of your child’s Birth Certificate. Registration Fee is 80.00 dollars per child. For more information contact, Vidal Morales at 524-4408..
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI OUR LADY’S ROSARY MAKERS STARTING IN SEPTEMBER
Tuesday at 10:15AM and 5:45PM. Spreading the Gospel-One Rosary at a time. Need more Information, Call: Jackie Kammerer at 524-2001 or the Pastoral Center—524-1306
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI SMALL CHURCH COMMUNITY
Are you interested in getting together each Thursday evening with a small group of parishioners to go over scripture? If so, please contact Paul and Carmen Tholl at 524-7016
WOMEN’S WEEKEND RETREAT
Have you made a retreat in a while? Refresh your soul. You are invited to participate in a Women’s Silent retreat on September 23-25 at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra. Transportation is available. Please contact Martha at 524-9337 for more information and reservations.
WE ARE FORMING A SPANISH YOUTH GROUP
Are you a youth ages 16—21 ? Are you interested in becoming a youth leader? Register for leadership classes that begin Tuesday, August 2 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Spanish Youth Group begins September 24th. Please keep our young leaders in prayer. To register, please contact Luz at 625-2828. God Bless you all.

It is difficult to imagine defending pedophilia at all, let alone issuing a religious decree officially condoning it through the act of marriage. Yet that is what one Saudi cleric has reportedly done by issuing a fatwa defending Muslim “child marriage” or, pedophilia.

Dr. Salih bin Fawzan, a cleric in Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council, has reportedly issued a fatwa asserting that there is no minimum age for marriage and that girls can be married “even if they are in the cradle.”

According to FrontPage:

Appearing in Saudi papers on July 13, the fatwa... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/saudi-cleric-issues-fatwa-defending-pedo...

Kids from age 6-up are welcome to attend the 7th annual "Fools for Christ" arts camp on August 1, 2,3, and 4 at St. Francis Assisi Church.

This delightful and active week of theater games and sacred art ends in a performance on the evening of Thurs. Aug. 4 . Kids will learn physical comedy, clowning, songs and make elegant icons to take home. This year's theme is "Daniel: The Boy Who was Loyal to God." Leslie Carson, long-time theater arts teacher at Saugus HIgh School directs the fun and Michael Lara, Religious Education Director at St. Francis provides music. "Fools for Christ" meets from 5:00-8:15, Monday through Thursday evening.

Call Michael at 524-1306 to register or show up at 4:30 on Aug. 1. Cost is $25 per family but fee can be waived. Six-year olds need to be accompanied by an older sibling or adult. To register, pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the churh or please contact Michael Lara at the Pastoral Center 805-524-1306.

(The church is also looking for teen counselors who enjoy fooling around with kids!)

This Saturday, July 23rd, the 3rd Annual Church Choir Festival will be held at San Salvador Mission in Piru, Ca from 2:00pm to 10:00pm. The event has grown rapidly from 3 years ago. This year we are going to have 10 different choir groups, including a choir from Monterrey, Mexico that is coming specifically for this event. Along with these wonderful groups there will be recording star, Yesenia Flores. She was a commercial recording artist that has committed her life to Christ and now performs in only church related events. This definitely will be a treat for our local church community. Along with the various choirs will be Bishop Thomas Curry, who will be celebrating an outside mass at San Salvador Mission because the Church can no longer hold the large number of expected parishioners. There will be various church groups selling different types of food for those who have an appetite for good food and uplifting music.

The choir festival came about from the need of bringing a spiritual up lifting to the Fillmore /Piru community with the approval of Father Barney Gatlin. Juan Arredondo, was the leading drive behind this event. Since Juan sang in the church choir and worked as a professional sound engineer, he had a desire to unite the local church choirs and have them perform for the local parishioners in praise of God. Juan contacted his dear friend, Fernando Mejia, a seminarian from Fillmore who was attending the seminary in Monterrey, Mexico. Fernando thought it was a wonderful idea and knew of a group of university students that had a choir who would be interested in participating. The first year 35 people from Monterrey, Mexico along with six seminarians participated in the first ever choir festival as well as other groups from our local churches.

Each year the event grows bigger and bigger to the point of where we are today. The day after the event, there is a gathering of the choirs and their families at the Galvez home, where the participants and their families come together and relax as they swim, play games and have fellowship. We hope this event continues to grow and the communities of Fillmore and Piru will continue to embrace this wonderful festival.

Children from 4 to 5th grade will not want to miss “PandaMania, Where God is Wild about You!” This Vacation Bible School theme will explore Psalm 139 with exciting Bible-learning experiences, team-building games, related crafts projects, and cool songs that reinforce Biblical concepts.

Join us at the Church of Christ at 219 Mountain View and Highway 126, July 25-29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Parents and children are invited to participate in the final evening’s program on Friday at 6:30 p.m. followed by a barbeque. All events are free. For more information call 524-2851 or 524-3641.

Bardsdale United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School, Shake It Up Cafe, opens for business Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22. Hours are 9 AM until noon.

Fun and learning activities using crafts, science, drama, Bible verses, and mission stories will help them learn about God's recipe for their lives. A healthy mid-morning snack will be served.

There's still room in the kitchen for more young chefs. Call Sharon Hurd, 524-0587, for an application, information and availability of scholarships. A tasty time will be had by all.

In a stunning revelation reported in The Telegraph Monday, parents in India are allegedly paying £2,000 (around $3200) to have their young daughters undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to turn them into sons — all in the hopes of dodging the added expense of raising a girl. Indian culture favors males for their income earning potential and due to the fact that unlike females, they won’t cost their families unnecessary educational expenses and wedding dowries.

Currently, there are 7 million more boys than girls under age six in India and there’s clearly a reason for that. In a country where female foeticide (gender-based abortions) are commonplace, this new twist has many fearing children aren’t safe even after they are born. Madhya Pradesh state government is already investigating 300 cases in which girls have reportedly undergone genitoplasty. The Telegraph goes on to explain:

The surgery... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/sex-change-operations-turn-little-girls-...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-06-23-us-jews-delta-airlines-...

SACRAMENTO, CA - An organization representing 21 denominations with 1.5 million members within the mainline and progressive Protestant communities of faith is the latest major organization to support the injection of transparency into the election campaign process. The group, California Church IMPACT, joins the California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, and the California Nurses Association in endorsing AB 1148, the California DISCLOSE Act.

Authored by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign, AB 1148 will require millionaires, corporate CEO's and other Big Money contributors who buy political ads to reveal their true identities in those ads, rather than hiding behind innocuous sounding names like "Stop Hidden Taxes" or the "California Jobs Initiative". Under AB 1148, the largest funder of an ad would have to appear in the ad, identify themselves, and say that they "helped pay for this message and approve it".

"The overwhelming power of money to mislead voters is a profound moral issue," said the Reverend Dr. Rick Schlosser, Executive Director of California Church IMPACT. "Voters deserve real disclosure in political ads so they know which powerful special interests are trying to buy elections and can make more informed decisions on which messages to believe."

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision unleashed unlimited, anonymous corporate and other spending on campaigns. In California, nearly $200 million was spent on November 2010 ballot measures alone, most by corporations hiding behind committees with misleading names. Studies have shown that anonymous spending groups are significantly more likely to fund negative advertisements.

"AB 1148 is a far-reaching effort to lift the veil on the hidden Big Money political campaign spenders in California," said Trent Lange, President of the California Clean Money Campaign, the sponsor of the California DISCLOSE Act. "It would stop special interests from being able to influence elections without voters knowing who's really behind the ads they're seeing."

AB 1148 applies to all ads supporting or opposing ballot measures or ads supporting or opposing candidates paid for by independent expenditures. California already has strong reporting requirements on candidates, so AB 1148 imposes no new reporting requirements on them, but requires candidates to "stand by their ad" like federal candidates have to. As an amendment to the Political Reform Act of 1974, AB 1148 can either be put into effect by a 2/3 vote of the legislature or by a majority vote placing a measure on the ballot for the voters to decide.

"The California DISCLOSE Act is a critical piece of legislation to fight unregulated corporate influence over California elections", said Jo Seidita, Chair of the California Clean Money Campaign. "Californians have a right to know who is financing the ads that they are constantly bombarded with during election season."

There is overwhelming support of legislation requiring greater disclosure in political ads, as indicated by the 89% of voters who favored legislation requiring ads to say which corporations paid for them, in a national poll done by Hart Research in June 2010.

#####

The California Clean Money Campaign is a non-partisan 501(c)3 organization dedicated to lessening the unfair influence of Big Money on election campaigns. For further information, visit www.CAclean.org.

MINOT FLOOD: Disastrous. Unstoppable. Historic. Unprecedented... http://www.minotdailynews.com/

Written By JONATHAN V. LAST

Mara Hvistendahl is worried about girls. Not in any political, moral or cultural sense but as an existential matter. She is right to be. In China, India and numerous other countries (both developing and developed), there are many more men than women, the result of systematic campaigns against baby girls. In "Unnatural Selection," Ms. Hvistendahl reports on this gender imbalance: what it is, how it came to be and what it means for the future.

In nature, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. This ratio is biologically ironclad. Between 104 and 106 is the normal range, and that's as far as the natural window goes. Any other number is the result of unnatural events.

Yet today in India there are 112 boys born for every 100 girls. In China, the number is 121—though plenty of Chinese towns are over the 150 mark. China's and India's populations are mammoth enough that their outlying sex ratios have skewed the global average to a biologically impossible 107. But the imbalance is not only in Asia. Azerbaijan stands at 115, Georgia at 118 and Armenia at 120.

What is causing the skewed ratio: abortion. If the male number in... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230365740457636169116563136...

A girl of nine has told how she escaped Pakistani terrorists who tried to use her as a human bomb.

Sohana Jawed said she was kidnapped on her way to school in Peshawar, and forced to wear a remotely-controlled suicide jacket. But she escaped her captors as they prepared to send her towards a paramilitary checkpoint.

Sohana, wearing her a blue and white school uniform, recounted her ordeal during a news conference with police in Lower Dir district. Militants in Pakistan have often used young boys to carry out attacks, but the use of young girls is rare.

Sohana said she... http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/girl-nine-used-as-hum...

Written by Rachel Sheffield

For many Americans, poverty is hidden from view, and its reality is conveniently tucked out of sight and out of mind in places like inner cities or across rural landscapes. The effects of poverty, though, are all too real for those suffering in the shadows.

Consider one startling fact: Children from single-parent families... http://blog.heritage.org/2011/06/17/morning-bell-fathers-day-and-the-imp...

St. Peter Express, Part II

Of the abridged adventures of one of the 1.5 million pilgrims that descended upon Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II: an account of everything but the beatification itself.

By F. Ferguson

Stampede
The moment before I fall into the arms of Morpheus, a voice cries out the most hateful words I can hear in this moment: GET UP! I’m immediately on my feet, blindly shoving my bed into my bag, mindful of the thousands of people mobilizing to cross this bridge. No time to pack my mat—this is four hours earlier than I expected. By the time I’m upright with my belongings, I’m totally surrounded by a mob of Poles of all ages. I scan the horizon of heads for my French comrades and manage to find some of my group at the end of the Via Conciliazione, where security personnel let people through individually at five or six entry points. Thus begins the all-night six-block marathon up the street.

It’s a battle: our small disoriented company losing men in the fray, getting separated, identifying comrades in the crowd by their clothing, flag, or language. These things are enough to bond when you’re up against obnoxiously loud Italians, groups of Spaniards enacting a Running of the Fools, and endless throngs of fearless Polish grandmas determined to press forward. Halfway to St. Peter’s Square, we hit a gridlock and settle down, trying not to get crushed.

Reaching the toilets in the nearest crossroad is an incredible ordeal. Although volunteers escort us through the body-strewn street, it’s inevitable to step on people as we tiptoe through the mass of immobilized bodies, reminiscent of a Dantean vision of Inferno.

We manage to return to our nebulous camp in the human amoeba that plasters the street. For two hours we huddle in the middle of what is usually a very busy thoroughfare, twisting our bodies to fit whatever crevice we can fill, hoping to catch some sleep. But it escapes most of us.

I’m more or less facing St. Peter’s, which rises before us like the Emerald City, only it isn’t green. Still, the cobblestones beneath us might as well be the Yellow Brick Road. Which I guess would make us a horde of homeless Munchkins. You can imagine a lot of things at 3, 4, 5, 6 am in the midst of 1.5 million people storming the smallest city-state in the world.

In the last leg of the race as the sky lightens, there’s no pretense of civility. Between falling asleep standing up and leading my group (the constituents of which have changed dramatically through the night) in song or joining in with the Parisian parish group that happens to be nearby, it’s a series of violent bag- and body-pushing towards the Vatican City. Normally, I’d hate this. But this is beyond normal. It’s rather exciting. With our bags and mats in testudo formation, we bulldoze through, two meters at a time.

In The Elliptical Square of St. Peter
Past the X-ray machines at the entrance, we’re hit with a devastating reality: the Square is already packed, and irritable sleep-deprived Catholics are jumping barricades and arguing loudly, fighting to shortcut the passage. The immense power of the crushing crowd steers us up against the barricade, then around a column; we creep down the shallow steps, discerning paths among bodies and blankets. In the bustle, we start losing each other one by one; I keep in sight of a student (tactical strategy: blue sweatshirt=friend), who spots a chaplaincy encampment. But it’s impossible to reach them with the human tangle on the ground and the constant incoming waves of people shoving us on. When we see one of our chaplains on the other side of our stream of traffic, we dodge all sorts of sleeping and smoking forms to reach the small Parisian oasis. Unfortunately, my raised mat is futile against the smoking girls sitting in front me; I weakly wrestle the great vexation that engulfs my sleepy mind. Sometimes, such as when I’m being forced to inhale carcinogens, carbon monoxide, tar, and ashes, I’m tempted to go soft on the Christian principles of forgiveness and forbearance.

Pageantry
With my Japanese emblem draped over my shoulders and a small Union Jack in my hand, I take in the sight of the other flags represented: one or two of the Philippines, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Slovakia, Switzerland, Spain, Lebanon, and about a billion of Poland. Even non-Polish looking banners reveal themselves to be in fact, Polish, once their texts come into view.

Ceremony
This is better recorded by others. Suffice it to say we’re overjoyed to celebrate the achievements of one of our brothers, thrilled to see Pope Benedict XVI beatifying his dear friend. I’m mumbling prayers of thanksgiving and petition—yes, including for the cessation of smoking but also for more compassion in my own heart—through my somnolent daze.

Exeunt
We leave the square (easily!) when Communion begins. Volunteers in the streets hand out packs of bottled water labeled “San Benedetto” as we power-march past landmarks and stride through Piazza Navona to picnic near Termini. Happily munching on Polish sausage for the occasion, I observe Rome in the sunshine. It’s as strange for me to see tourists and locals going about their day just as we backpacking pilgrims must appear strange to them: international sojourners who camp in the street for a short ceremony.

No Italy without gelato; I waltz off and board the train with pineapple and peach sweetness. Immediately I’m enlisted to block the doors from two Tunisian men trying to sneak into France on our train. We nervously follow the unsettling instruction to search the bunks, storage spaces, and bathrooms for “undesirable passengers.” The border security stint over, I dig into an avocado with a gelato paddle and introduce the French to Reese’s peanut butter cups. When the train begins to nap, tranquility itself rolls by in the golden evening light on the other side of the window and bids us farewell. Arrivederci, Italia.

Bonjour, Paris
There’s nothing like beating the crowds to early-morning teeth brushing, watching the landscape flash past at 75 kilometers per hour. After Lauds, our voices continue weaving four-part harmonies down the hallway, searching for wisdom, reveling in beauty. This isn’t a dorm fieldtrip but a makeshift cloister on wheels, a koinonia of bright youths fervent in their walks of faith, part of, and yet apart from, the world.

We’re back at Austerlitz at 10:30 am. The two brothers from my group rocket down the platform, shouting exultantly. The rest of us take pictures and exchange see-you-soons before taking to the transports of Paris, very much looking forward to a nice shower. It’s been a great weekend: we’re renewed in spirit and we’ve grown in friendship with some great memories shared between us—and the rest of the world who joined us—in the great adventure of attending the beatification of Pope John Paul II in Rome.

Parents, mark your calendars for our annual Vacation Bible School which will be held July 25 to 29, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Church of Christ, 219 Mountain View Street at Highway 126. Children from four years to fifth grade are invited to PandaMania, “Where God is Wild about You!” This will be an exciting week with many faith-building activities! Plan now to attend.

Written by Jonathon M. Seidl

Two Palestinian teens have been charged in the brutal, horrific death of an Israeli family. And one of those teens not only has no remorse, but he said he would do it all again.

The Fogel family was attacked back in March. The two young Fogel boys, aged four and eleven, were stabbed, one in the heart, while the family’s 3-month-old baby had its throat slashed. During the attack, the parents were also stabbed while in bed. The father died of knife wounds while the mother was shot.

17-year-old Hakim... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/teen-accused-of-brutally-stabbing-israel...

The Richmond Federal Reserve Bank's attempt to show inclusiveness in the workplace by flying the rainbow flag outside its building has reignited a divisive gay-rights debate.

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, is calling on the bank to remove the flag, terming its presence "a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues."

In a letter to Richmond... http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2011/jun/04/marshall-asks-richmo...